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<\/a>Yes, I\u2019m on vacation. No, I\u2019m not going anywhere\u2026well lots of trips around the beautiful state of Colorado are in the plans. We are hoping to see some gorgeous fall colors in the mountains. My brother and his lovely bride are coming for a visit. That is vacation enough for me folks!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This coming week, I\u2019ll be sharing some older posts. I pray that God will bless you abundantly this week.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Donna<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Kingdom of the Grasshopppers<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m sure you have no idea that I live in the kingdom of the grasshoppers. In fact, I\u2019m sure you didn\u2019t know that I am royalty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we were driving to my home a week or so ago, I was informed by my granddaughter Joy that we were getting close. I asked how she knew. She replied, \u201cBecause as we get closer to your house, there are more and more grasshoppers.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grasshoppers. Of course! Why didn\u2019t I think of that?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just in case you don\u2019t know, \u201cgrasshoppers\u201d are the natural gas or oil pumps that line the horizon. Joy was right. As we get closer to my house from her house, \u201cgrasshoppers\u201d appear in abundance. There are actually two within my neighborhood.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was only natural that I immediately became the queen of the kingdom of the grasshoppers. An elaborate story began to form around this kingdom. Our collaborative, creative minds made the rest of the trip fly by. We were home in no time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Royalty. Queenship. It was all rather fun. Until the real implications of lordship step into the real storyline.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We sang the hymn \u201cI\u2019d Rather Have Jesus\u201d yesterday at church. It has been one of my favorite hymns through the years and it was once again a good reminder of what I should be willing to give up for Jesus. Here are some of the lyrics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; <\/p>\n Refrain: <\/p>\n What am I willing to give up so that Jesus might be the Lord of my life? According to this song and to Scripture, I must give up the queenship of my kingdom. Not just my worldly possessions or the items that I am the \u201cqueen\u201d over, but also the kingdom of my heart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You see, the only kingdom that I have any control over is the kingdom of my heart. I can give it away or I can hold onto it. As I loosen my grip on this kingdom and allow Jesus to reign, my heart becomes His. He becomes the King of my heart. My queenship is overthrown.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Peter mentioned Lordship as he penned the words of First Peter. \u201cBut in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.\u201d<\/em> (1 Peter 3:15a \u2013 NIV) Clearly, Jesus is to be placed in high prominence. He is to be Lord of the kingdom of our hearts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we read the Book of Ephesians, we come to a better understanding of this idea. \u201cI pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.\u201d<\/em> (Ephesians 3:16-17 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You see, as we offer our heart kingdom to Jesus, He gives abundantly. Riches, strength, and power.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We also receive peace when we allow Christ to rule our hearts. \u201cLet the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.\u201d<\/em> (Colossians 3:15 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And there is encouragement. \u201cMay our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.\u201d <\/em>(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 \u2013 NIV) Encouragement to continue good doing and speaking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We receive much more when we offer Jesus His rightful place on the throne of our hearts. He asks us to be His people, but the benefits are weighted heavily on our part.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Romans 6:17 (NIV) speaks to whom our allegiance should be focused. \u201cBut thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n When our hearts are in line with God\u2019s teaching, we know exactly where our allegiance lies. We know who rules over our hearts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThan to be the king of a vast domain\u2026\u201d<\/em> My vast domain is encapsulated within my heart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Luke\u2019s words appear to be speaking to me. \u201cThe good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.\u201d<\/em> (Luke 6:45 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is stored in my heart? Good? Or evil? The more I offer my heart to Jesus, the less evil will be stored there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark\u2019s words also speak to me. \u201cLove the Lord your God with all your heart\u2026\u201d<\/em> (Mark 12:30a \u2013 NIV) There can be no mistake with this command. Loving God with our whole heart leaves no room for evil. Complete and total Lordship. That must be our goal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, how is the kingdom of your heart? Who is the Lord and King of your heart? What are you willing to give up in order for Jesus to sit on the throne of your heart?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet forfeit his soul?\u201d<\/em> (Mark 8:36 \u2013 NIV) Jesus\u2019 question is just as relevant today as it was when He spoke it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why not allow Jesus full access to your heart today? Give it over to Him. Nothing in this world is worth losing your soul over. Nothing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Donna<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [i]<\/a> I\u2019d Rather Have Jesus, Rhea F. Miller<\/a>, 1922<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yes, I\u2019m on vacation. No, I\u2019m not going anywhere\u2026well lots of trips around the beautiful state of Colorado are in the plans. We are hoping to see some gorgeous fall colors in the mountains. My brother and his lovely bride are coming for a visit. That is vacation enough for me folks! This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3762,24,4664,246,15,10,21],"tags":[3819,1639,1373,964,3192,4772,328,4773,84,4774,4770,2039,4771,4775],"class_list":["post-4951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abide","category-asking-god","category-choose","category-honoring-god","category-knowing-god","category-proclaiming-god","category-trusting-god","tag-gods-wisdom-for-a-womans-life","tag-1-peter-315","tag-2-thessalonians-216-17","tag-colossians-315","tag-ephesians-13","tag-give-up-the-queenship-of-my-life-to-make-jesus-lord","tag-id-rather-have-jesus","tag-luke-645","tag-mark-1230","tag-mark-836","tag-my-vacation-day-7","tag-romans-517","tag-the-kingdom-of-the-grasshopppers","tag-the-kingdom-of-your-heart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4952,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4951\/revisions\/4952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI\u2019d rather be His than have riches untold;
\nI\u2019d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
\nI\u2019d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand<\/p>\n
\nThan to be the king of a vast domain
\nAnd be held in sin\u2019s dread sway;
\nI\u2019d rather have Jesus than anything
\nThis world affords today.[i]<\/a><\/p>\n